This is coming from a true blue Sharapova fan... I am more upset about what happened to Elena today than Maria losing, my only hope is that the Karma comes back to get Mary and Kim thrashes her, it would be criminal for Kim to come this close to her first GS title only to be stopped by that con-artist. :mad:

There I feel much better now. :angel:

JC Federer

Sep 10th, 2005, 05:53 AM

Yeah, what a shame.

I didn't see the match, but 12 minute injury break? How do they even get away with that? The rule is 3 minutes.

I have seen Mary play before, and her pace is really annoying. She likes to wipe both her legs, arms, face. Takes her full 25 secs between every point. That can really annoy your opponent. The commentators are always cringing every time they see her wasting time like that.

But based on Kim's interview, I think she's tough and won't let that bother her. Kim should win her first major.

In a way though, it's not all bad. I don't think she would have beaten Kim if she got through anyway. Kim is just so fast and accurate, and hard hitting. I just couldn't bear to see Elena lose a 3rd straight GS final... so in a way, I'm happy I won't have to.

I'm no fan of Kim, and now, even less a fan of Mary, so I don't care what happens tomorrow. I won't even have to bother getting up early to watch it.

kammgretel

Sep 10th, 2005, 06:50 AM

And if you watched the match, the commentator said , the only thing that she hadn't did is "take a warm café"... :haha:

Paco

Sep 10th, 2005, 09:36 AM

And if you watched the match, the commentator said , the only thing that she hadn't did is "take a warm café"... :haha:
:haha:

Dementinator

Sep 10th, 2005, 10:12 AM

Well I am used to Lena getting screwed ,I wouldnt be suprised if the USTA asked Mary to do that ,just so the wouldnt have a Russian in the final ....

But seriously that time out was riddiculous ,almost 15 mins and Lena lost her flow and that was that ,thats why Mary did it ,no other reason ,she is an irratating ,sneaky bitch and I hope Kim sends her packing!

Lena needs to learn to handle these kind of things better and hopefully this will be good experience ,everyone hates playing Mary ,no wonder others have had a row with her ,and I look forward to the day she pisses off and retires ..

That stupid grin from Mary is irratating too! who the fuck does she think she is? gormeless cow! :lol:

exodus'05

Sep 10th, 2005, 11:36 AM

elena wasn't affected by mary's stalling
in the second set mary just played better than in the first and elena was making more errors

Dementinator

Sep 10th, 2005, 11:48 AM

oh she was effected by marys pissing about ,thats Lena's problem to deal with tho ,but typical Mary ,well lets hope Kim sends the stuck up poncy bitch back where seh belongs

SloKid

Sep 10th, 2005, 12:13 PM

Yeah I hope Kim wins. Kim is among my favorites, because she always plays fair and knows how to handle losing. Even Maria was a graceful loser yesterday.
I always prefer players who play fair and do not try to disturb their opponents and always play their heart out. James Blake is one of my faves as well for that reason.

JC Federer

Sep 10th, 2005, 05:33 PM

One key thing is that supposedly Mary didn't have much wrong with her. When she got back on the court, she was blasting away.. that is some miracle trainer they have at the USO.

When I listened to Mary's interview, she used two injury timeouts... What's strange is... I always thought the rule was, you only get 1 injury timeout per match, plus a second treatment during the next changeover. Since when can you take two injury timeouts?

Anyway, Pierce will know what it's like losing two GS finals in a season. I don't think Kim will choke tomorrow.

Whether Elena would have won, we can only postulate now, but for certain taking an injury timeout after your opponent makes a strong start against you, definately rattles the other player and takes away their momentum and rhythm. A very unsavoury tactic, that commentators mention a lot. Another disagreeable tactic is using it to treat cramps. Timeouts are for injuries, not cramps. Its your own problem if you aren't fit enough take the conditions. The rule should never have been changed to allow cramps treatment. It's unfair to your opponent.

Are timeout rules different for the men than it is for the women? Men get diagnosed, then 3 minutes to treat the injury, and during the next changeover (90 seconds) the trainer is allowed to reassess the injury, but can't hold up play. You only get one injury timeout per match.

For the women, apparently you get 3 minutes to diagnose the injury, then straightaway another 3 minutes to treat it... You can have two per match, and have it done back to back for 12 minutes.

SloKid

Sep 10th, 2005, 06:41 PM

I think it was a timeout per injury (one for her back, the other for the thigh muscle), but still she abused the rules. No sportswoman of the year award for her I guess.

hnwortman

Sep 10th, 2005, 07:20 PM

I really wanted beautiful Elena to get into the finals, too. She adds more beauty to the court than Mary Pierce. I really do agree that I want Mary Pierce to lose. I know Clisters can beat her!! She has it!!

michelle11

Sep 10th, 2005, 07:45 PM

is there a limit for the number of injury timeouts??
otherwise kim should take a book with her...perhaps "war and peace" or "ugly winning".

Apoorv

Sep 11th, 2005, 01:08 PM

mary definitely paid the price for her doing. wonder was it the injury that cause her loss!

JC Federer

Sep 11th, 2005, 01:32 PM

She said the injury didn't affect her at all... she got past Mauresmo and Lena with it.

Sadly, there's no satisfaction to be had in this defeat, because she took it with class... She said nice things, and didn't look all that disappointed or hurt by the loss (other than having a dejected and slumping look in the chair after the match). She showed no signs of resentment or grudging, and didn't blame anything for the loss, gave credit to Kim.

I think it would have been different if the result was 6-0 6-0, or 0-6 7-5 7-6(9) for Kim. The defeat was 65 minutes long though. The record for a shortest women's final is 60 mins, so she avoided the record by 5 mins.

So I guess the only payback is a rematch with Lena. Though I'm not sure if Lena can beat her. She is playing very well, hitting the ball very hard, and she is an RG and USO finalist this year...

Mathijs

Sep 11th, 2005, 02:50 PM

mary definitely paid the price for her doing. wonder was it the injury that cause her loss!

clearly not, of what i've seen of the final Today, Mary was moving too well to have real injuries, i think i've read as well somewhere that she had to go to the lockerroom for 3 mins at a changeover, becuz the tape around her thigh was too tight!! :eek:, her plan didn't work this time...

JC Federer

Sep 11th, 2005, 03:53 PM

Yeah, she tried that stunt again. After the first set she had her thighs re-taped, then immediately took a toilet break... after one set of tennis? You could see Kim's reaction was a bit irritated, but she was professional and knew how to handle herself.

udachi Elena

Sep 11th, 2005, 04:55 PM

Elena probably told Kim to expect Mary to pull some shit after losing the first set..

JC Federer

Sep 11th, 2005, 05:09 PM

What I wonder is... would she have taken these breaks if she had won the first set? That would answer all questions. But somehow, I don't think she would. Delay tactics are there to be used to your advantage.

TennisNick

Sep 11th, 2005, 06:31 PM

Sadly, there's no satisfaction to be had in this defeat, because she took it with class...

For me, there was still extreme satisfaction in seeing her get crushed and playing poorly, regardless of her post match comments. And she did look pretty dejected to me sitting in the chair. After all, she got smoked in her second straight GS final this year, and it's not like she is going to have many more chances at another title. It has to be painful to get through all week playing well and then play terribly on the biggest stage.

So I guess the only payback is a rematch with Lena. Though I'm not sure if Lena can beat her. She is playing very well, hitting the ball very hard, and she is an RG and USO finalist this year...

No question in my mind Lena can beat her. She's beaten her before and she will beat her again. That first set when Lena played well Pierce had no chance. If Lena dows not hit a ton of errors she beats Pierce everytime.

What I wonder is... would she have taken these breaks if she had won the first set? That would answer all questions.

I don't recall her taking a break in the Jankovic match, but I can't speak for
the other matches. My guess would be no, she does not take a break when she loses the first set. She knew what she did was wrong... when MJ Fernandez asked her after the match with Elena she just avoided the question.

JC Federer

Sep 12th, 2005, 12:05 PM

Damn.. I need to get a hold of that Pierce vs Lena match. Preferably with McEnroe's commentary. Did MJ Fernandez commentate that as well?

I thought Pierce didn't choke or play poorly in the final. She went for her shots, and even had Kim struggling to return them, as good a counterpuncher as she is. But Kim was simply the better player.

Veritas

Sep 12th, 2005, 12:15 PM

Yeah, she tried that stunt again. After the first set she had her thighs re-taped, then immediately took a toilet break... after one set of tennis? You could see Kim's reaction was a bit irritated, but she was professional and knew how to handle herself.

If Kim could keep the momentum up, then I wonder why Lena couldn't. OK, Mary took a 12 minute one in Lena's case, but still professional tennis players face all sorts of challenges and maintaining focus is just one of them.

I'm too upset about the whole thing. Yes it was unfortunate, but even if Lena made it through to the finals, she would've gotten destroyed by Kim for the 8th time. A 1-7 H2H record is already bad enough, no need to stretch it to 1-8 :o And a SF finish isn't bad at all. Lena's 14-4 this year at the Slams, which is her best and most consistent W-L record so far :)

JoJoCircus

Sep 14th, 2005, 05:29 AM

After all, she got smoked in her second straight GS final this year, and it's not like she is going to have many more chances at another title. It has to be painful to get through all week playing well and then play terribly on the biggest stage.

Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside doesn't it!LOL!

JC Federer

Sep 14th, 2005, 06:57 PM

I notice Mary Pierce hits the ball extremely hard, and even had Kim on the backfoot. Kim who retrieves and moves so well against anyone. Definately a dangerous player, even at 30. She did manage to beat JHH after all. She also beat Sharapova last year at the Open iirc.

On clay, she seems to be in form. Sooo..... I wouldn't brush her aside that quickly. I actually think with the team Russia has picked, France are favorites for the Fed Cup. They don't have a good doubles combination, and I'm not too sure about Myskina's form this year... Sveta or Maria, and Lena Likovsteva would have been a handy player to have on the team. Why Dinara Safina and Douchevina? There are plenty of others they could have picked.

fredlander

Sep 20th, 2005, 09:28 PM

elena wasn't affected by mary's stalling
in the second set mary just played better than in the first and elena was making more errors
That's a idiotic staement. That stall cooled Elena off, who was really in the grove at the time and about to win in 2 sets. If Mary had won the first set, she wouldn"t have pulled this fake stunt, she would have continued playing. Pierce is a phoney!

Mathijs

Sep 20th, 2005, 09:39 PM

That's a idiotic staement. That stall cooled Elena off, who was really in the grove at the time and about to win in 2 sets. If Mary had won the first set, she wouldn"t have pulled this fake stunt, she would have continued playing. Pierce is a phoney!

It's still buggering you Fred?, C'mon Lay it to rest, it happened, and we cannot change it, let's look forward mate, to the good things that will gonna happen for Lena :D

Albireo

Sep 20th, 2005, 10:01 PM

I think it would have been different if the result was 6-0 6-0, or 0-6 7-5 7-6(9) for Kim. The defeat was 65 minutes long though. The record for a shortest women's final is 60 mins, so she avoided the record by 5 mins.

Damn.. I need to get a hold of that Pierce vs Lena match. Preferably with McEnroe's commentary. Did MJ Fernandez commentate that as well?

I thought Pierce didn't choke or play poorly in the final. She went for her shots, and even had Kim struggling to return them, as good a counterpuncher as she is. But Kim was simply the better player.

Send me a private message if you're interested. I might be able to help you out. I recorded it on video-tape until near the end of the 3rd set, when the power went out(?!!??!) I don't care about keeping the tape. I'd mail it to you if you want.

meyerpl

Sep 21st, 2005, 12:18 AM

Send me a private message if you're interested. I might be able to help you out. I recorded it on video-tape until near the end of the 3rd set, when the power went out(?!!??!) I don't care about keeping the tape. I'd mail it to you if you want.

Damn! I'm sorry to get your hopes up. I just went to retrieve the tape from the VCR where I work only to discover that I did NOT tape the match as I thought. I thought I was recording but I wasn't. I sincerely apologize. Good luck. I can tell you that McEnroe was all over Pierce after the time-out(s).

!!!--Duiz™--!!!

Sep 21st, 2005, 01:37 AM

revenge came! It is the revenge season!

shady

Sep 28th, 2005, 10:15 PM

I had watched that match and I was enraged :fiery: that sucked :fiery: she got screwed so badly :fiery: :mad: :fiery:

shady

Sep 28th, 2005, 10:17 PM

But then again, Kim sent Mary packing! :p

!!!--Duiz™--!!!

Sep 28th, 2005, 10:20 PM

But then again, Kim sent Mary packing! :p

:devil:

shady

Sep 29th, 2005, 03:26 AM

I was on the edge of my seat for that whole match.Especially when she shreiked! That was funny.

JC Federer

Sep 29th, 2005, 05:30 PM

Damn! I'm sorry to get your hopes up. I just went to retrieve the tape from the VCR where I work only to discover that I did NOT tape the match as I thought. I thought I was recording but I wasn't. I sincerely apologize. Good luck. I can tell you that McEnroe was all over Pierce after the time-out(s).

:sad:

Oh well, thanks for your kind offer though!

Btw, I've been thinking about that USO, and if Lena beat Mary Pierce, what do you think would have been her prospects against Kim Clijsters?

I always believed Kim would be favorite, but I had this little feeling Lena was capable of winning that through mental toughness, and working hard to compensate for the lack of a serve. They do play kinda similar. Kim is basically Lena + a serve. It would have been a tough match, but I felt there was a small chance of an upset. She'd probably need to rely on tie breakers, and if it got to a 3rd set tie break, we all know her record there. :D

Dementieva-fan

Sep 29th, 2005, 06:22 PM

I only got two words for it::

Bloody Mary!!!

kammgretel

Sep 30th, 2005, 01:54 AM

Hi, wise JC F.

IMO,
In so many occasions that Lena & Kim have faced, it had more advantage in Kim's side, we all know that. http://fool.exler.ru/sm/sad.gif
To be able to conquer Kim or Myskina, Lena needs a pill specialized for her consistency and resistance of lasting until the end of the game. Because Lena in a lot of games has showed that she could conquer the opponent initially, the first set. After that, it has a second set very closed, of that time the opponent could reverse to win the set. Sadly it had to define in tie-break, another difficult but SPECTACULAR game if Lena wins.http://fool.exler.ru/sm/nail.gif

Another very frequent thing that happens to Lena is that in her game has many "deuces" http://fool.exler.ru/sm/duel.gif, but we cannot deny that often her forehand is so strong http://fool.exler.ru/sm/kar.gif that allows her to take some games.

Anyhow I enjoy her match http://fool.exler.ru/sm/popc.gif, because it is entertained and stressfully.